There’s a moment — somewhere between confirming the venue and watching the last visitor walk out with a smile — where you think: we actually did it.
That moment came for me at the end of our inaugural Palette Japan Festival, and I haven’t quite come down from it since.
Where It All Began
Palette Japan Festival didn’t start with a business plan or a budget spreadsheet. It started with a question I’d been sitting with for years: what would it look like if everything I loved and everything I knew came together in one place?
I’ve spent my career at the intersection of branding, marketing, PR, and strategic communications. I’ve worked in events — particularly in media — and I know better than most how to build something with presence, purpose, and pull. I’ve also spent years developing curricula, thinking deeply about how people learn, how knowledge is structured, and how craft is transmitted from one generation to the next. And threading through all of it, quietly and persistently, has been my deep love for Japanese arts and craft — an interest that was never just a hobby but always felt like a calling.
Palette Japan Festival is where all of that converged. It is, quite literally, a festival made from the full palette of who we are – my partner – Tomoko Ota and myself!
From November to Launch: The Two-Month Sprint
Here’s something I’ll say plainly: we were a little mad. In a good way.
We confirmed our venue in November, and we opened the festival doors just two months later. For anyone who’s ever organised a large-scale cultural event, you’ll know that timeline is, shall we say, aggressive. For anyone who hasn’t — trust me, it was a sprint.
But here’s what made it possible: network, experience, and an absolute refusal to be daunted.
My background in events, especially with the media, meant I wasn’t starting from zero. I had relationships. I had contacts who picked up the phone. I had an understanding of what press attention looks like and how to earn it — not just ask for it. Those years in the industry weren’t just career milestones; they were preparation for exactly this moment. When speed is everything, a ready network is everything.
And it showed. We pulled it off. Not just adequately — beautifully.
To the Crafters: Thank You for Trusting Us
Of everything that needed to come together, the most important was this: the crafters.
These are artists, artisans, and masters of their disciplines — people who have devoted years, sometimes decades, to perfecting techniques that carry centuries of Japanese cultural heritage. They didn’t have to say yes. They chose to. And in doing so, they placed their trust in a first-time festival, a young organisation, and a vision that existed mostly in my head and in a few well-written emails.
I do not take that trust lightly.
From the sashiko stitching to the meditative hand embroidery, from sew-on beading to flower crafting to the miniature zōri slippers — every workshop was a masterclass in patience, precision, and passion. You brought the soul of Palette Japan Festival to life. Without you, we would have had a lovely venue and a very empty afternoon. With you, we had something that moved people.
Thank you. Genuinely.
To Our Trainers: Advanced and New
To our advanced trainers — you carried this festival on your shoulders, and you did it with grace. The preparation you put in, the dedication to your craft, and the way you showed up for participants session after session was extraordinary. You are the backbone of what we do, and none of this would exist without your hard work.
To our new trainers — your support meant more than you know. Stepping into your first major event, finding your footing, and giving your energy to make this work: that is not a small thing. You were part of something historic, and we are so glad you were here.
The Grand Opening: A New Kind of Ribbon-Cutting
Let’s talk about the ribbon.
Because we don’t do things the ordinary way here at Palette Japan, we didn’t do an ordinary ribbon-cutting. Instead, we initiated what I hope will become a beloved Palette Japan tradition: a Grand Opening in the style of Tsumami Zaiku.
For the uninitiated, Tsumami Zaiku is the intricate Japanese art of folding fabric — typically silk — into delicate, exquisite flowers. It’s precise, it’s meditative, and it is breathtaking to watch. For our grand opening, we commissioned specially handcrafted Tsumami Zaiku balls, one for each of our VIPs, to serve as our ribbon-cutting equivalent.
Every Japanese crafter received theirs to keep — not as a souvenir, but as a keepsake. Something made by hand, made with intention, and made to last. It was meaningful. It was sustainable. It was, I think, exactly right. Why cut a ribbon that gets thrown away, when you can give something beautiful that tells the story of what you’re about?
To our honoured guests who joined us for the grand opening: thank you for lending your presence and your support to this inaugural chapter. Your being there made it real in a way nothing else could.
The Book Launch: Tsumami Zaiku to the World
The festival also marked a deeply personal milestone — the official launch of Tomoko Ota’s debut publication, Tsumami Zaiku to the World. The book weaves together essays and poetry to introduce the art of Tsumami Zaiku, its history, its significance, and its quiet power to connect people across cultures and generations.
That it launched at Palette Japan, surrounded by crafters and learners and lovers of Japanese art, felt entirely right. This is the community this book was written for.
To Our Visitors: You Showed Up, and It Mattered
Events live or die by the people who walk through the door.
You walked through ours. You showed curiosity, patience, enthusiasm, and warmth. You tried new things with your hands. You listened to stories about traditions far older than any of us. You gave feedback — positive, generous, thoughtful feedback — that has already informed how we think about what comes next.
Thank you for showing up. Thank you for staying. Thank you for leaving with something you didn’t have before — whether that was a new skill, a new appreciation, or simply a really lovely afternoon.
We Were Also on the Radio
A small but proud moment: I was interviewed on CNA 938 for their Rewind programme, speaking about Machiya, Shamisen, Ichizawa — and the travel tales and passions that led me to build Palette Japan Festival. For a media veteran, there’s something full-circle and wonderful about being on the other side of the microphone, telling not someone else’s story, but your own. You can listen to the episode here.
See You in 2027
Yes, you read that right.
We’re already thinking about the next one. Palette Japan Festival 2027 is on the horizon, and we are going to bring even more — more crafts, more masters, more moments that make you put your phone down and just be present with something beautiful.
The inaugural edition confirmed what I believed when I started: there is a real hunger for this. For slow art. For handmade things. For cultural depth in a world that too often moves too fast.
We’ll be back. Better, bolder, and armed with everything we learned from pulling off the impossible in two months.
It was a mad rush. But we did it. And I would do it all again.
Follow Palette Japan for updates on our 2027 edition and upcoming workshops. If you attended this year’s festival, we’d love to hear from you — tag us, message us, let us know what stayed with you.
Art of Tsumamizaiku 